He signed a petition against to the same law, against the law maker in St. Petersburg. Not to mention he invited to his shows Johnny Weir. I think this is no accident, they are good friends. Johnny is an openly gay person, the Russians know on him this information. Plushy's shows will be held in Russian Far East and in Siberia too..

Maybe just to clarify...That petition was against the main proponent of a similar Saint Petersburg law, IIRC.

I confess I was a little startled by the title of this thread, but I guess the OP is really asking about Plushenko's popularity in Russia. I don't know if one can really talk about his "importance" to the Sochi Olympics--I mean, he is an athlete, and he has his dream of going to the Olympics like everyone else, that's all. If he doesn't make it, many would be disappointed, but the Olympics would go on without him. Though he was also part of the delegation in Guatemala that brought the Winter Olympics to Sochi, so if one wants to take the thread title literally, I guess he did contribute to it that way...

If it's Plushenko vs. Kovtun, I think Plushenko should be sent even if he's not in TOP form. After all, it was because of Kovtun's poor finish at the last World Championships that Russia went down to one spot. He could implode majorly at the Olympics.

That is hugely unfair. Whoever is the best skater come Russian Nationals/Euros this year should go. Kovtun has had good results this year, even with inconsistencies. 2 GP silvers is easily the best GP showing than any Russian man since Plushenko has achieved. He's also had an SP with 2 quads, as well as an LP with 2 out of 3 quads landed. He's come a long way since his performance at Worlds last year, when it was his federation that pushed him there when he should have gone to WJC. If Kovtun IS skating better than Plushenko around the time of Russian nationals, he should go to Sochi and not be held back as punishment for something that really wasn't his fault.

However, whether Plushenko competes or not, he should certainly have a huge presence there. If he isn't competing, he should definitely get an exhibition number in the gala.

That is hugely unfair. Whoever is the best skater come Russian Nationals/Euros this year should go. Kovtun has had good results this year, even with inconsistencies. 2 GP silvers is easily the best GP showing than any Russian man since Plushenko has achieved. He's also had an SP with 2 quads, as well as an LP with 2 out of 3 quads landed. He's come a long way since his performance at Worlds last year, when it was his federation that pushed him there when he should have gone to WJC. If Kovtun IS skating better than Plushenko around the time of Russian nationals, he should go to Sochi and not be held back as punishment for something that really wasn't his fault.

However, whether Plushenko competes or not, he should certainly have a huge presence there. If he isn't competing, he should definitely get an exhibition number in the gala.

You have two mistakes.
-Kovtun went to WCH, because of Tarasova, the Rus Fed did it, what she wanted.
-The Russian Federation will decide after ECH, not the Rus Nat.

As far as I am aware, Plushenko IS the face of figure skating in Russia. Total legend NOT just in Russia but also a large part of Asia.
I really hope he get to compete one more go just so he can prove he outlasts those like Lysacek who might have got an OGM, but what else has he got? (other than a tan)

2 GP silvers is easily the best GP showing than any Russian man since Plushenko has achieved.

But who has the best championship results since Plushenko? Who has the only Worlds medal since Plushenko? Who has the only Euros medal since Plushenko? You know these answers. But this skater has been tossed on the scrapheap...

Originally Posted by CanadianSkaterGuy

he should go to Sochi and not be held back as punishment for something that really wasn't his fault.

...you mean, like Gachinski? People forget. There were TWO men at Worlds in Nice. There were two men because Gachinski made it so. Gachinski was not the only one who failed in Nice. It wasn't his fault, either.

Originally Posted by CanadianSkaterGuy

However, whether Plushenko competes or not, he should certainly have a huge presence there. If he isn't competing, he should definitely get an exhibition number in the gala.

If he can't skate, I want to see him present the men's medals.

Originally Posted by CanadianSkaterGuy

And is it actually documented that Tarasova forced the Russian Federation's hand? I mean, you would think Mishin would have also pushed for Gachinski, who ranked higher.

As I understood it, Mishin actually fought for Menshov first, and only when it became apparent that there was no way in hell the Fed was going to send an "old man", he started pushing for Gachinski. I think he wasn't too upset that Gachinski didn't go (they needed to sort out his headspace and his physical problems), but he was definitely fighting on Menshov's side.

And however you look at it, Tarasova forced the fed's hand. I mean for crying out loud, the guy they sent to Worlds was FIFTH at his own Nationals.

I forgot to address that Sochi Olympics would be fine if Plushenko had totally retired and had gone into seclusion in Siberia. His appearance is a bonus because he's so popular but the Olympics would be fine without him.

But who has the best championship results since Plushenko? Who has the only Worlds medal since Plushenko? Who has the only Euros medal since Plushenko? You know these answers. But this skater has been tossed on the scrapheap...

In that case, Gachinski deserves to go moreso than Kovtun with his Worlds and Euros medal. Or Ando deserves to go over Murakami given her 2 World wins.

It doesn't matter who Plushenko is, if Kovtun or another skater is better than him at the time of the Olympics they deserve to go. It's just common sense and is the most fair.

And awarding the medals is probably not something he would want to do or something many other skaters would want him to do.

You think Chan would enjoy getting awarded a medal from somebody who tweeted that his World title was won by the Canadian federation and not something he earned?

Most likely the Olympic committee don't spend their nights thinking what do they do to make Patrick Chan, or any other individual athlete, as pleased as possible Anyway there will be enough officials to award the medals.